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NHS patients may be denied new prostate cancer drug
February 02, 2012
NICE has issued new draft guidance that does not recommend abiraterone for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
Men with advanced prostate cancer may not be able to access a new drug called abiraterone on the NHS in future, in light of new draft guidance issued by the body that advises the health service on new treatments.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says that abiraterone in combination with prednisone or prednisolone is not recommended for men with prostate cancer that has spread following chemotherapy and cannot be operated upon.
While the institute's appraisal committee recognised the drug's potential benefits, it concluded that it would not be a cost-effective use of NHS resources.
Sir Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NHS, said: "Abiraterone is a drug that could potentially extend life by more than three months, compared with placebo. For patients, one of the key benefits of this drug is that it can be taken orally at home.
"However, it is an expensive drug and the independent advisory committee that made this decision did not feel the drug provided enough benefit to patients to justify the price the NHS is being asked to pay."
Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, argued that the decision made no sense.
He pointed out that abiraterone is one of the most requested treatments from the Cancer Drugs Fund - a pot of money designed to provide access to potentially life-extending therapies that are not approved for routine NHS use.
"At the moment it is too expensive and NICE must find a way to ensure drugs that are already working for patients get approved," he added.
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